Donations to Riga Children's Hospital drop by 25% after tax reform

Donations to the Children's Clinical University Hospital fund have dropped by 25% after the recent tax reform, said the director of the fund Liene Dambiņa in an interview with Latvian Television. She noted that the decrease occurred right at the end of the year, when companies were usually known to make donations, which makes it evident that they now have little motivation to do so.

Before the tax reform, companies paid the yearly corporate income tax, which could be reduced by the giving of donations. Now the profits left in the company are no longer subject to tax. At the same time, however, donations amounting up to 5% of last year's revenue or up to 2% of staff salaries are also exempt from tax.

Dambiņa said that the cut in donations will bear hard on projects aiming to improve the hospital environment. Recently, for instance, donations were used to build the Hemato-oncology Department. It will be difficult to realize projects of this kind with reduced funding.

Dambiņa stressed that the money meant for the support of individual children will not be taken away and the fund will not refuse anyone. She said that the fund works with children both within the walls of the hospital and outside it. Children who receive support have serious health complications and need long-term assistance, and whose treatment cannot be covered by any form of government aid.

With the help of the fund, the hospital was able to buy new equipment necessary for various operations. In particular, it helped introduce new treatment methods in cardiology and neurology.

Currently, the fund is also working with adolescents suffering from mental disorders. In the future, the fund wishes to help not only children who are fighting addiction, but also those minors who are battling depression, have suicidal thoughts and engage in self-harm.